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Noted Scripture scholar Robert Karris develops book of reflections for 30 days

Sep 17, 2012 |

New book from Franciscan Institute Publications: St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on the Gospel of Luke – Thirty Days of Reflection and Prayer

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Franciscan Institute Publications announces the release of “St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on the Gospel of Luke: Thirty Days of Reflection and Prayer” by Robert J. Karris, O.F.M.

From his work on translating and annotating St. Bonaventure’s three-volume “Commentary on Luke’s Gospel,” noted Scripture scholar Robert Karris has developed this book of reflections for 30 days. Playfully referring to them as “BonaLuke bites,” Karris gives preferential treatment to those passages used in the Sunday lectionary during Cycle C.

A user-friendly format begins with the passages from Luke’s Gospel followed by Bonaventure’s commentary on one or two verses under consideration. Karris’s reflection follows that of Bonaventure and concludes with a prayer.

Today, Lukan scholars acknowledge many “Franciscan” themes in Luke’s Gospel. Members of the Franciscan Family will enjoy reacquainting themselves with the charism through the lens of Luke’s Gospel.

Perhaps preachers will find that old interpretations are new again and can sparkle because Bonaventure has singled out the very best from tradition to challenge our normal way of interpreting passages familiar through years of liturgical use.

In this delightful book, Karris skillfully selects bite-sized bits of his massive work on St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on St. Luke, then, with his own reflections, situates the morsels within the larger meal of the Gospel and the work of the Seraphic Doctor. The concluding prayer serves as dessert, leaving the reader both satisfied and wanting more. Not only Franciscans will find rich fare within. – Barbara E. Reid, O.P., Catholic Theological Union, Chicago

Robert Karris offers the reader a triple treat in his Thirty Days with St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on Luke. First, we get his wonderful translation of Bonaventure’s commentary presenting the Seraphic Doctor’s inspired interpretations with deft skill and amazingly contemporary insights. Second, he offers his own penetrating perspective on both Bonaventure and Luke. And third, he leads the reader from reflection to prayer at the conclusion of each passage. If anyone needs their interest in the gospel of Luke refreshed or their views of a great medieval mind shaken clean of dust, this book will do it … and in surprising and deeply fulfilling ways.
– William L. Burton, O.F.M., S.S.L., S.T.D.,
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary

All those who pray with scripture or who offer Sunday homilies on the readings from Luke’s gospel will welcome the latest offering from Robert Karris. The fruit of many scholarly years with this gospel and Bonaventure’s commentary on it, his book ties together “the best of both worlds.” The structure of the offerings should prove insightful for those engaged in lectio divina, especially Franciscans, as they attempt to hear the gospel’s message for their own lives. – Marion C. Moeser, O.S.F., Christ the King Seminary

Robert J. Karris, O.F.M., Th.D., is a Franciscan priest of the Sacred Heart Province whose headquarters are in St. Louis. He earned an STL from Catholic University of America and a Th.D. from Harvard University in New Testament and Early Church History. Fr. Karris is a former professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a former Provincial Minister of Sacred Heart Province and General Councilor of the Order of Friars Minor. He is a research professor at The Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University.

He has been widely published and his most recent New Testament books are, “John: Stories of the Word and Faith” and “Eating Your Way through Luke’s Gospel.” He is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and for the last seven years he has preached in more than 190 churches in the United States on behalf of the poor served by Food for the Poor. He is general editor of the 15-volume Works of St. Bonaventure series published by Franciscan Institute Publications.

FRANCISCAN INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS - www.franciscanpublications.com - is a leading publisher of books and journals on medieval Franciscan history, sources, spirituality, philosophy and theology as well as contemporary issues on Franciscan life and ministry. It has published critical editions on, for example, the works of John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Adam de Wodeham and Peter of John Olivi. Known for many years for its critical editions of leading medieval Franciscan philosophers and theologians, Franciscan Institute Publications has more recently endeavored to make available to a wider reading public the very best of modern scholarship on the history, spirituality and intellectual tradition of the Franciscan movement. Our scholar/authors include Robert J. Karris, Jean-Francois Godet-Calogeras, David Flood, Jaques Dalarun, Kenan Osborne, Mary Beth Ingham, Oleg Bychkov, Margaret Carney, Maria Pia Alberzoni, David Burr, Joe Chinnici, Wayne Hellmann, Jay Hammond, Tim Johnson, Darleen Pryds, Steven McMichael, Luigi Pellegrini, Thomas Renna, Ilia Delio, Thomas Shannon and many more